by Nicole Kiefert
This holiday season, give the gift of planets!
Uwingu, a team of scientists dedicated to connect people with space exploration, is allowing people to name martian craters on the Uwingu Mars map, along with other unique gifts.
One of the gift options is to name a martian crater, part of an Uwingu project to create a new Mars map and name all 500,000 unnamed features. Craters to be named range in size from about half a mile (under one kilometer) to 200 miles (350 kilometers).
...

Airbus Safran Launchers and Arianespace have teamed up to promote their Ariane 6 launcher that is debuting in 2020 and its benefits to the general public.
To kick off the campaign, the two are promoting an Instagram contest and the lucky winner will get the opportunity to go to an Ariane 5 launch in 2017 at the European space port in Kourou, French Guiana with flight and accommodations included.
Participants are asked to post an image of what Ariane 6 means to them. This could be anyt...

A guest blog by Benjamin Palmer.
What makes an astrophysical event timeless? Time itself. A concept ideally illustrated by the atmosphere at Cape Canaveral on April 8, 1966. Immortality was absent from Launch Complex 12 when an Atlas-Agena D roared to life. Tracing a brilliant arc through the Floridian sky, the fiery parabola soared to its apex, vaulting hopes, dreams, and a 3,800lb octahedron into Earth’s exosphere. Its unassuming name veiled a revolutionary purpose. The Orbiting Astro...

A guest blog by reviewer James Morse.
Anyone who takes up astrophotography will, sooner or later, find their way to PixInsight (PI). For many of us who grew up on other image processing software packages, PI is everything we could hope for, with one major exception, which I will come to shortly. Whether you buy into the PI mantra of being true to the data or not (I am firmly in that camp but know many others who love PI that are not), it is a wonderful suite of tools. To quote from PI’s w...

By Nicole Kiefert
The September 2016 issue of Astronomy Insights is available online. Insights is a 14-page digital supplement brought to readers by Celestron.
Along with two full stories from Astronomy, this issue of Insights has a spread for Celestron’s LA Moon Walk that took place in August. The event had telescopes set up for observing, an International Space Station flyover, and brought in plenty of big names. They raised money for The Planetary Society and Free Arts.org through tic...

A guest blog by Benjamin Palmer.
Take a thoughtful glance around you. What do you see? Perhaps you’re ensconced in an office, fingers poised on a laptop’s trackpad, screen illuminating the paint on the walls. Maybe you’re gazing out the kitchen window, observing passing cars cast in the wash of street lamps below. You might even be out under the stars, eyes drawn from your Smartphone to the cosmic depths above. Three random scenarios, Venn-diagramed by unique grains of commo...

We just received an announcement for what looks to be a super-cool public astronomy gathering from our friend Michelle Meskill at Celestron. The company is organizing the event — called LA MoonWalk — to benefit The Planetary Society and FreeArts.org. And it’s happening tomorrow, Thursday, August 18, from 7 to 10 p.m., at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Ticket prices range from $15 to $75.
The program is to help promote the Planetary Society and their new initiative STEAM Team.&...

The world’s greatest multigenre convention is taking place. San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 officially started Thursday, July 20, and runs through Sunday the 23rd. Actually, Preview Night occurred Wednesday, July 19, for professionals, exhibitors, and press like me. I was fortunate enough to be awarded press credentials for the fifth time. I’m here for the whole shebang, and I’ve already had a heck of a time, scientifically speaking, that is.
Comic-Con started in 1970 a...

Darkness at midday is coming. With less than 425 days to go before the total solar eclipse that will cross the U.S. on August 21, 2017, things are kicking into high gear. This event’s popularity will dwarf anything any of us have ever worked on.
So, I’m writing stories about the eclipse for the magazine, I’ve given more than two dozen talks about it, and I’m hosting what might become the largest single science event in history in St. Joseph, Missouri. (Read all about it ...

It's Thursday, June 9. I am in Carbondale, Illinois, for the fourth meeting of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Task Force, sponsored by the American Astronomical Society. My wife and I drove here from Milwaukee earlier today, a pleasant 6-hour road trip. A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about this conference and told you that talks on the first day would be free to the public. I hope some of you chose to come and I can meet you tomorrow. If you’re weren't able to attend, but you’d like ...

If you're planning on hosting or helping with an event for the upcoming August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse, where will you be June 10 and 11, 2016? On that Friday and Saturday, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, will host the fourth 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Workshop, sponsored by the American Astronomical Union. And the group has invited the public in to hear the talks.
Previous meetings in Baltimore, Maryland, Columbia, Missouri, and Portland, Oregon, were quite successful...

I hope you got a chance to enjoy the transit of Mercury today! Most of the world had at least some chance to see it (sorry, Australia), and here in Wisconsin, we could view the whole event — or, we could have, if the weather had cooperated.
I spent the day at Yerkes Observatory. The clouds were patchy, but we had solar telescopes for checking out the Sun directly, and projection boxes for a different kind of experience. Inside, we were running the SLOOH livestream, which I hope you got ...

This past Saturday, April 16, kicked off National Citizen Science Day (though events run throughout the month), and I spent it celebrating with the estimated 350,000 attendees of the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. Visitors were mostly families, with kids of all ages eager to participate in hands-on science activities and to meet professionals from every imaginable science field. At Astronomy's booth, we were handing out solar viewing glasses in preparation for the Great...

On Saturday, April 9, 2016, the Sheboygan Astronomical Society is hosting its ninth annual Swap ’N’ Sell. This year’s event, like the previous ones, will take place at the Aviation Heritage Center of the Sheboygan Airport in Wisconsin from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For those of you who own a GPS or like to use Google Maps or MapQuest, the address is N6191 Resource Drive, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin 53085.
Maybe you have some astronomy stuff like telescopes, eyepieces, accessories, camer...

A guest blog by Dolores Hill
Who in the world would spend their free time talking to the public about the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) mission and asteroids? OSIRIS-REx Ambassador volunteers and OSIRIS-REx team members, that’s who! We have a terrific group of volunteers who staff tables at public events such as the University of Arizona’s College of Science Lecture Series where the mission’s Principal Inves...

It’s almost here! Astronomy is in the astronomical capital of the universe, and we’re ready to rock. Here are the details:
Event: The 2016 Tucson Star Party
Date: Saturday, February 13
Time: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Venue: Pima Community College (PCC) East Campus, 8181 E. Irvington Road
Location: Near the PCC observatory on the south side of campus
Hosts: Astronomy magazine and the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA)
Other groups involved: The Southern Arizona chapter of the ...

Geoff Notkin is awesome.
As an author, educator, musician, scientist, and someone who for three seasons played his real-life analog, one of the Meteorite Men in the TV show by the same name on the Science Channel, Notkin has seen a lot. Maybe not all of it, but a lot. And yet he remains one of the friendliest and most approachable people you’ll ever meet.
Notkin and two employees are attending the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show under the banner of his company, Aerolite Meteorites. I stopped...

Anyone remember this exchange from "The Immunity Syndrome," an episode of Star Trek (the Original Series):
Spock: Vulcan has not been conquered within its collective memory. The memory goes back so far that no Vulcan can conceive of a conqueror. I knew the ship was lost because I sensed it.
Kirk: What was it you sensed?
Spock: Touch of death.
Kirk: And what do you think they felt?
&nbsp...

On Saturday, February 13, 2016, Astronomy magazine in conjunction with the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) will host the fourth annual Tucson Star Party at Pima Community College (PCC) East Campus. Activities will start at 10 a.m. and conclude around 9 p.m.
The TAAA will have several properly filtered telescopes during the day to safely view the Sun. Visitors will see sunspots, prominences, and other solar activity. During the evening (starting around 6 p.m.), the club will dep...

Since astronomers first stared up at the wandering stars they eventually recognized as planets, they have mostly used our home solar system as the basis for how such celestial families form. And then, twenty years ago, astronomers started finding the first planetary systems other than our own. And all understanding went out the window.Our solar system has no Jupiter-size world orbiting close to our star. And while rare relative to other kinds of planets, we see hot Jupiters in abundance around o...

The astronomy community has faced a lot of controversies in the past year. From the clash between the Thirty Meter Telescope and Native Hawaiian interests, to prominent astronomer Geoff Marcy stepping down over reports of sexual harassment, astronomers have spent a lot of time talking about things that are not, strictly speaking, science. As an astronomer who was actively doing research only a year ago, I can tell you that I wish I weren’t talking about it. But not talking about uncomforta...

Trying to take a picture of even the closest black hole is like trying to resolve a DVD on the surface of the Moon. To do so, astronomers will need an Earth-sized observatory.Many people are drawn to astronomy by its beautiful images. Who hasn't been captivated by a glowing planetary nebulae, or the glittering sweep of a spiral galaxy? But sometimes astronomers study things you simply can't take a picture of. A game-changing exoplanet light-years away might be known only by its U-shaped li...

Today, Tuesday, kicks off the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Kissimee, Florida. Thousands of scientists are gathered to share their research and the latest developments in their field. I caught up with Patrick McCarthy, the interim president of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT).
Eventually comprising seven mirrors, each 8.4 meters in diameter, GMT will span 24.5 meters total and ring in the new generation of so-called "extremely large telescopes" in the 30-meter range....

Forty-three years ago to the day, humans left the surface of the Moon for the last time. Everyone remembers Neil Armstrong’s one small step. Far fewer can call to mind Eugene Cernan, who left mankind’s final footprint in the lunar dust. But far from defending his title as the last lunar explorer, Cernan argues strongly for a return to our closest celestial neighbor.
"We've got to go back to the Moon," he urged a crowd gathered in Chicago last night to commemorate the anniversary of ...

If you’ve been outside before dawn lately under a clear sky, you’ve seen some cool planetary activity in the eastern sky. Venus, Jupiter, and Mars have been congregating near one another in the constellation Leo the Lion. Venus shines brightest (at magnitude –4.6). Jupiter shines only 8 percent as bright (at magnitude –1.8), but that’s still brighter than any star in the sky. Finally, Mars brings up the rear at magnitude 1.8. If the Red Planet is your favorite, don...

This evening marks the White House's second-ever Astronomy Night. President Obama is hosting astronomers, engineers, scientists, and especially teachers and students for a night of stargazing and other hands-on astronomy activities. Guests can chat with astronomers, astronauts, and even Mythbusters, learn astronomy-inspired stories and navigational techniques from Native American and Hawaiian traditions, and explore some of the latest technology innovations in space travel and astrophysica...

The Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC) concluded today. More than 350 imagers and manufacturers dedicated to imaging met in San Jose, California, for three intense days of learning, buying, and fun. Saturday was the big day, but today offered the talk “Eight Ways to Intensify Color” by R. Jay GaBany and an interview with noted imager Adam Block by Hubble Award recipient Ken Crawford. Everyone I talked to agreed: This was a great conference. The venue was new and easily held the reco...

The Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC) continues today in San Jose, California. Yesterday was filled with lots of conversations with imagers (both longtime contributors to the magazine and those who never have sent anything in) and manufacturers. If you’ve followed my recent blogs and writings, you know I’m totally aimed toward the 2017 total solar eclipse. So, I made sure to ask attendees what they’re doing on that day. I had a different question for manufacturers: What eclipse...

The 2015 version of the Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC) has gotten off to a strong start. I'm currently attending the 11th incarnation of this meeting in San Jose, California. This gathering always has been specifically geared toward astroimagers. And this year, the AIC board decided to expand their reach a bit. In the past, most of the imagers have concentrated on CCD cameras and deep-sky targets. But in 2015, there are talks about planetary imaging, wide-field imaging, and lots of attention ...

Mother Nature continues to deliver northern lights in abundance for our Astronomy magazine/TravelQuest International tour of Norway's Aurora, Culture, and Scenic Wonders.Aurorae struck for a third consecutive night on Thursday, adding to the general feeling of good luck onboard the Hurtigruten vessel MS Nordnorge. Even here north of the Arctic Circle, the weather is sunny and relatively warm during the day, with crisp, aurora filled evenings. Behind the glow, the northern skies brim with stars c...